KENOSHA, Wis. - The Carthage College Red Men turned in a dominant performance on Saturday afternoon at Art Keller Field, defeating the Big Blue of Millikin University, 45-27.
The win moves the Red Men to 6-2 overall on the year and 4-2 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, while Carthage hands the Big Blue just their second loss of the season to drop Millikin to the same mark of 6-2 and 4-2 in the CCIW.
The Red Men totaled 603 yards of offense in the win, with 377 coming through the air as quarterback Kyle Friberg went 25-31 for 375 yards and two touchdowns. Manny Jones was his favorite receiver on the afternoon, recording nine catches for 183 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Tommy Bazarek also added a pair of receiving touchdowns with one from Friberg and one from Bobby Suchecki.
"If you play like we did with the weather today it is well worth it," said head coach Mike Yeager after the win. "We played well and I thought we did a really nice job against a really good Millikin football team. Their quarterback, Nicco Stepina, is the real deal and is probably the best player in the league and he makes it tough on you, but we did what we needed to do… I think we did everything we wanted to accomplish; the offense today was awesome. That was as well as we have played in a long, long time. And with the injuries that we have on that side of the ball, that is a credit to the offensive coaches, players and really everybody."
Under head coach Mike Yeager, it is the first time the Red Men have tallied 600 yards of total offense and Carthage's first 600-yard game since November 7, 2009 against North Park.
Friberg's 375 yards passing is the most by a Red Men quarterback since 2010, when Evan Jones passed for 394 against Augustana and it is the eighth most in Carthage history.
Manny Jones also made a dent in the record book with his 183 yards, which ranks sixth in Red Men single-game history and is the first player with 150-plus receiving yards since Jamahl Wright in 2013.
On Jones and Friberg, Yeager said, "I thought our receivers stepped up today. Obviously Manny Jones played out of this world. The wind was tough today on Friberg, but after he made a few adjustments to the wind I think he played really, really well. When you throw for 375 yards through the air that is a pretty good day… Kyle efficiency has been outstanding for us over the past couple years. He is an exceptionally smart young man. He does a nice job protecting the ball. Going 25-of-31, you aren't going to do much better than that."
On the ground, the Red Men used eight different ball carriers to rush 51 times for 245 yards. Lafayette McGary led Carthage with 17 carries for 61 yards and a pair of touchdowns. McGary also had 33 yards on six catches out of the back field.
The Red Men defense played a solid game once again, as the number-seven team in the nation in interceptions picked off Big Blue quarterback Nicco Stepina three times and holding him to his second lowest passing day of the season with 262 yards. Albert Rogalski recorded the first interception against Stepina on the day as Millikin was driving deep in Red Men territory until an interception at the two yard line. Connor Calvertrecorded a pair of interceptions against the Millikin quarterback, with both coming in a third quarter to give the Red Men their 18th and 19th interceptions of the season as a team.
Calvert's first interception swung the momentum of the game, as he picked off the second play of the third quarter to give the Red Men the ball at the Millikin 21 yard line. Two plays later the Red Men scored their first-of-three touchdowns to win the quarter and seal the victory.
Looking at the Red Men secondary Yeager said, "When you are playing receivers like that with a quarterback like that you are going to give up some plays. We knew we weren't going to come out here and shut them out. The key was to get those turnovers and that is what we talked about all week."
Linebacker Emmet Trost and nickelback Shawntrel Garner led the Red Men with six tackles apiece and Amani Dennis led the secondary with five from free safety.
Kicker Lance Unland made the most of his opportunities on Saturday, improving to a perfect five-for-five with a 31-yard field goal today and going six-for-six on extra points.
Next up for the Red Men, they will look once again to deliver a second loss of the season to another team, as the Red Men head to North Central College on Saturday, November 4th. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. from Naperville.